Artistry@Work Series  

by Maison des Sciences de l’Homme–Université Clermont Auvergne, in collaboration with the RAI

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Tuesday, 04 March 2025,  4:00-6:00pm GMT

On the Art of Being a Female Entrepreneur
in the Skilled Trades

Speaker: Dorothee Hemme, anthropologist & entrepreneur, Göttingen

Discussant: Miriam Naji, University College London

 

Abstract:

The exhibition project "Women in Crafts from Here!" aims to show the diversity of female craftsmanship in the region of South Lower Saxony through personal portraits of 19 craftswomen from various trades. These women, most of whom own their own businesses, represent the growing number of women in leadership and ownership roles in Germany’s craft sector. The seminar will present the overall project and cross-sectional results from encounters with these craftswomen, delving into their motivations for learning their craft, the paths they have taken, the significance of being a woman in their trade both technically and entrepreneurially, their daily lives, and their hopes for the future. Participants are invited to discuss the artistry of female business management in the craft sector.

 

Biographical note:

Dorothee Hemme, cultural anthropologist and owner of HandWert, has a longstanding focus and passion for craftsmanship. With a background in folklore and art history, she has worked in open-air museums, with a particular interest in architectural culture. Her academic tenure at the University of Göttingen was marked by two interdisciplinary research projects on craftsmanship: “Objects of the Skilled” explored the relationship between experiential knowledge and innovation in traditional crafts like clay and organ building, while the “Craftsmanship Pride & Happiness” research project investigated the link between life satisfaction and craftsmanship. Since 2021, she has led HandWert, a startup realising projects that shed light on the world of craftsmanship and convey the indispensability of craftsmanship.

Myriem Naji is an honorary research fellow at the Department of Anthropology, University College London, where she earned a PhD in 2008. She is interested in productive and creative processes and their significance for livelihood, identity and ways of living. Her current project, for which she received an Endangered Material Knowledge Programme (EMKP) grant, aims to research textile knowledge systems in southern Morocco. She is interested in the impact of craft and heritage on livelihood and knowledge transmission. In prior research on organic farmers in the south of France she also explored the relationship between production, economy and activism.

 

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Artistry@Work is an online Seminar Series in the Anthropology of Artists & Artisans, running 2024–2025 

Maison des Sciences de l’Homme–Université Clermont Auvergne, in collaboration with the Royal Anthropological Institute

Organisers:  Dr Raphaël Blanchier & Professor Trevor Marchand

This seminar series in anthropology explores the situated practices of ‘artistry at work’ and, more broadly, the working lives and career trajectories of artists and artisans plying their trades in regions around the globe. The scope of the series also encompasses studies of occupations not conventionally categorised as “artistic” but that nevertheless foster creativity among (some) practitioners and even accommodate the development of “artist” identities. 

Find a list of all events here.

 

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